RANGERS GET KINGS' DIONNE

By Craig Wolff

Published: March 11, 1987

In the 16th deal he has made as the Rangers' general manager, Phil Esposito beat the deadline in the closing minutes yesterday with his splashiest yet perhaps strangest trade.

He sent Tom Laidlaw, who has played seven years for the Rangers, and Bobby Carpenter, who had hardly played for them at all, to the Los Angeles Kings for one of the great names in hockey, Marcel Dionne, who is 35 years old and the second-leading point scorer in National Hockey League history.

''I said at the very beginning, 'Enough waiting,' said Esposito. ''And that's what I'm saying today.'' The move also brought to the Rangers Jeff Crossman, a minor-league left wing, and a third-round draft selection in 1989. It capped off a furious period of wheeling and dealing, even by Esposito's prolific standards. It was his fifth transaction of the week and his third yesterday.

At 10 in the morning, he sent Raimo Helminen to the Minnesota North Stars for future considerations. At 1 P.M., he acquired Stu Kulak, a right wing, from the Edmonton Oilers, to complete the deal that had sent Reijo Ruotsalainen to Edmonton.

Then at 2:30 P.M., he finished his phone negotiations with the Kings' general manager, Rogie Vachon, that had begun in earnest at 11:30 the night before with a phone call from Vachon to Esposito. Vachon said that he told Esposito that Dionne had expressed interest in coming to the Rangers and that he had decided to comply with the star's request.

''It's not an easy thing, believe me,'' said Vachon. ''But we're thinking for down the road.''

Said Esposito of the Rangers' 47-year quest for the Stanley Cup: ''I'm going for it this year or next year, and I think Dionne can really help. I'm doing the same thing the Rangers did when they acquired me at the end of my career.''

Esposito said that Dionne would enter the option year of his contract next season and that the Rangers would be willing to renegotiate with him. Esposito added that he understood Dionne would be agreeable to a reduction in salary, which is about $350,000 this season. Renegotiation problems apparently contributed to Dionne's desire to part with the Kings.

Efforts to reach Dionne last night were unsuccessful because the player was already en route to join the Rangers for their game at Madison Square Garden tonight with the Boston Bruins. When he arrives, he will bring with him a historic set of accomplishments.

In 16 seasons in the N.H.L., four with Detroit and the last 12 with the Kings, with whom he signed as a free agent, Dionne has scored 689 goals. That is third among goal-scorers, behind Gordie Howe, who scored 801, and Esposito himself, with 717. Dionne's 984 assists are second to Howe's 1,049 as are his total points, 1,673 to 1,850.

Dionne, who six times has scored 50 or more goals in a season, has 20 goals and 54 assists this season, and his production seems to be in decline. Last season, he scored 94 points, the season before 126. But he brings to the team the savvy of a veteran who is expected to help the Rangers' ailing power play, and he brings the ambitions of a great player who has played many years for non-contenders.

With the Rangers in a four-team scrap for three playoff positions and in danger of missing out on the playoffs, Esposito said that he felt he had to make a deal that would help them immediately.

For those reasons, Esposito felt compelled to give away Laidlaw, one of the team's steadiest defenseman over the last several years, but who has not been as sure-handed this season. His plus-minus rating was minus 18, the worst figure on the team. That part of the trade seemed logical, but Esposito's surrendering of Carpenter is what makes this exchange so odd.

Carpenter, a center, had only two goals in 28 games for the Rangers, but not much more than two months ago, on New Year's Day, Esposito acquired him from the Washington Capitals at a big price - Mike Ridley and Kelly Miller - and indicated that he had full confidence in Carpenter's ability to turn his career around. After a few brilliant seasons, Carpenter had fallen into disfavor in Washington and ultimately disuse.

He is only 23 years old and recently Esposito had expressed confidence that Carpenter would score 40 goals next season. The trade therefore suggested that for the first time since Esposito had taken over the Rangers last summer, he had actually second-guessed himself.

''It's a little bit of a gamble,'' said Esposito. ''But he wasn't scoring, his defense wasn't good, and he wasn't winning face-offs anymore. I couldn't wait, because I can't have a guy of his talent not producing in the playoffs and we may not make the playoffs. I know Dionne will produce.''

Esposito also said that he was able to make the deal because the Rangers have several young centers who will make the team next season and have an impact.

''If I was the guy who sat on my hands like the previous management,'' said Esposito, ''everyone would criticize me.''